


Operation: Treat Yo Self

by mustlovelance



Series: love me like you do [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, allura is so gone for him at this point lol, spa day shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-21 16:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13745310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mustlovelance/pseuds/mustlovelance
Summary: It was technically her first mission with only Lance, and she had to admit, she was pretty distracted.





	Operation: Treat Yo Self

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series, and has a few references to previous installments, but I think you could get away with reading it on its own. 
> 
> I'm sorry if I fundamentally misunderstood any part of what a spa day is. I've never had one, so I literally had to read articles about the process. 
> 
> Let the fluff begin!

“Man, I could really go for a spa day after _that_.”

Lance’s voice cut through the post-battle chatter like a knife. Allura turned, catching him stretching his arm over his head and wincing. Before Allura could even narrow her eyes, Lance spoke up again, louder this time.

“It’s the _least_ we deserve,” he said. “Maybe they have a Hero’s package somewhere? Or Groupon? Does space have Groupon? Hey, Coran, does—”

“I would not be opposed to a spa day,” Allura said. She tucked her helmet against her side. “It would do us well to relax our sore muscles.”

“Do any planets around here even have the _concept_ of a spa day?” Hunk asked. His shoulders slumped forward. “Anyway, I need to repair Yellow before I kick back.”

“I’m working on a new program,” Pidge said. She wrinkled her nose. “Besides, I don’t want anyone touching my feet, thanks.”

“Pidge, the foot massage is always an add-on,” Lance pointed out, a slight whine to his tone. He stepped forward to sling his arm around Hunk’s shoulders. “And Hunk, my buddy, my _man_ , don’t you—”

Allura marched towards Coran, setting her helmet down along the way.   

“Coran, are there any nearby planets that might have spas?” she asked. Coran glanced away from Lance, whom he’d been watching with a dramatically arched brow, and settled his gaze on Allura.

“Quite a few!” Coran said, twirling his moustache. “The planets that we’ve liberated have been able to put resources into recreation again! Spas are quite the popular attraction.”

“Oh, that’s lovely news!” Allura said, clasping her hands together. “So we—” A loud sigh drew her attention towards Shiro, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed tight against his chest.

“Princess, I’m not sure we really have time for—”

Allura frowned. Although Shiro had always been very…focused, he’d become _dismissive_ of anything outside his focus nowadays.

“I am aware of our situation, Shiro,” she said. Someone—probably Lance—whistled in the background. “However, it would be remiss of us not to account for fatigue. Besides, I’m sure whichever planet that Coran choose will appreciate our patronage.”

Frankly, she just wanted to feel like a princess—not the kind who strategizes for war, but the kind who gets pampered. Just for two hours or so—she knew that such things were not truly meant for her.

“We can call it _Operation Treat Yo Self_ , to make it like, official,” Lance said. Allura couldn’t stop herself from smiling at him as he sauntered over. Shiro sighed again as he raked his fingers through his hair, but he said nothing in protest.

“Shall we begin this mission in thirty dobashes?” she asked, scanning the team.

“Well, it appears that only you and Lance are going on this mission,” Coran said, dragging out each word as he watched her.

Beside her, Lance let out a strangled noise, and across the room, Pidge started snickering.

“Is…that alright with you, Lance?” Allura asked, giving him a sideways glance. He wouldn’t say _no_ , would he?

“Oh yeah, totally fine,” Lance said quickly. “I’ll just, uh—” He gestured towards the exit with his thumb, walking backwards towards it.  

“Don’t be late!” she called after him. It was at that precise moment that his back hit the wall, at which point he turned on his heel and speed-walked down the hall.

“Oh, _brother_ ,” Allura heard Hunk mumble before he trudged out of the room himself with Pidge following close behind him.

\--

After Nyraz had been liberated and joined the coalition, it was able to restore its old recreational facilities, most popular being its spas. According to Coran, its spas were enjoyed by a variety of species across the free universe.

“We are most honored to host the princess and her paladin at our spa!” the Nyrazian greeter chirped. She reached Allura’s shoulder in height, but her voice projected very well.  

“Actually, Allura’s a paladin too!” Lance pointed out. “She’s with the Blue Lion—the best of the bunch.” When the alien tilted her head at Lance, her antennae drooped to the opposite side.  

“Aren’t _you_ with the Blue Lion?” she asked. The Nyrazian woman furrowed her brows—or, what Allura assumed were brows, but were more like deep-set…wrinkles?

“No, not anymore,” Lance said.

“But your armor is blue in the shows.”

“I’m with the Red Lion now; I just wear the same armor as before. Blue is my col—”

“I thought that was Keef? The growling one?”

Lance laughed out loud while Allura groaned.

“I apologize for the confusion—the Voltron Shows are not completely accurate to the current team composition,” Allura said.

“I see,” the Nyrazian woman said. Her enormous eyes moved between the two of them. “Well, would you like to visit the sauna before your treatments? We are still setting up your room.”

“Oh, yes, that sounds lovely,” Allura said.

The woman led Allura to the sauna on the right side and provided brief instructions before turning back for Lance. 

Allura unzipped her dress, hanging it up near the exit, and sat down on the bench. The heat was just short of suffocating, and the smell of wood was just strong enough to be pleasant rather than overwhelming.

Of course, if this had been _exactly_ as she liked it, then Lance would be there, sprawled across the bench when he wasn’t leaning over to mess with the rocks, rambling about something cool that Hunk and Pidge were working on or complaining about Keith’s hair or asking her whether Altea had anything resembling a _mongoose_. The thought brought a smile to her face as she stared up at the ceiling.

However, given her state of undress, she doubted he would have been his usual chatty self. When she’d worn this same bikini to go swimming a few months ago, Lance had stared at the ground and walked straight into a tree. He was the paragon of all bark and no bite, as Hunk liked to say.

_Used_ to bark—he didn’t flirt with her—or anyone else—lately. Allura liked to think it was a sign of maturity, a welcome development, but part of her almost missed it.

_Almost_.

Allura sighed, sliding down the back of the bench until she was lying down across it. Nonetheless, the quiet was a welcome change. She allowed her eyes to slip closed as she enjoyed the smothering heat.

“Princess—er, Paladin? Princess Paladin?”

Allura recognized the voice as the woman who’d greeted them and led her to the sauna. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and glanced at the exit.

Princess Paladin, huh? She could get used to that one. It certainly went well with her PRINCESS tiara from Blaire’s.

\--

As she expected, Lance seemed determined not to look at anything except Allura’s face now that she was in a bikini.

“So, how was the sauna?” Allura asked. Lance, for his part, looked quite nice in his swimming shorts. It reminded her yet again how long his legs were.

“Oh, uh, it was—it was nice,” Lance said. “Real nice. I mean, really nice. Warm. Good. Uh—”

“Let me guess, you spent half the time throwing water on the rocks?” Allura asked.

Although Lance’s laughter still had a nervous edge, it was softer as he replied.

“C’mon, how could I resist?”

When they stepped into the room, two other Nyrazians, more brightly-colored than their greeter, introduced themselves and handed each of them a towel for their hair. Allura had never seen Lance wear a hair towel before, but he put it on without missing a beat. Given all his talk of his beauty regimen, it only made sense that he knew how to do such things even though his hair was short.

“You know, it took my mother so long to teach me how to put that on properly,” Allura said quietly. Lance turned to her and tilted his head. “I used to just run around with wet hair.”

“Oh man, my niece is the same way, actually, except she doesn’t really want to learn,” Lance said. “She likes to whip her hair around and get water on people’s faces.”

“Well, I must say, I did indulge in such antics from time to time.”

Lance’s eyes lit up.

“Ohmygod— _please_ tell me you whipped your hair at Coran at _least_ once.”

“But of course! My father found it very entertaining.”

As Allura approached her massage table, she heard Lance conversing with his masseuse—Rayba. Either their similar appearances and names were a coincidence, or Allura’s masseuse, Cyba, was her relative.

Allura made herself comfortable on the table, letting out a soft exhale as she turned her head to face Lance’s table. As usual, Lance wiggled around a lot before he settled into his own comfortable position. When he noticed that she was looking at him, he offered a goofy smile that made her feel warm.

A light floral scent wafted through the air as Allura heard bottles being popped open. She exhaled slowly just before Cyba’s hands—both pairs of them—began to scrub in the “body polish.”

Allura let her eyes fall shut as Cyba continued her work. These gentle touches only made her more eager for the massage; it would be a relief to get rid of all these knots. 

“Um, Princess Paladin, if you could please just stay still for another moment—”

“Oh! My apologies.”

Allura forced herself to stop squirming. Enjoying the moment was important too, she told herself.

“Princess Paladin, I have completed your body treatment. Are you ready to wash before the massage?”

“Yes!” Allura said, a bit too loud. She could feel Lance’s gaze on her just as clearly as she could hear his chuckling. “I mean, yes. Thank you, and I apologize again for not staying still.”

“Jeez, Allura, you’re pretty psyched for this massage, aren’t you?” Lance asked, hopping off the table and heading back towards the shower on his side of the room.

“I’ve been so tense lately,” Allura admitted. She stepped into her own shower and turned the water on. Although she had a hair towel on, she still tried to avoid letting it get wet as she watched the body polish slide down her legs and swirl into the drain. It looked…sparkly?  

“By the way—” She heard Lance call out to her, loud enough to be heard over the shower. What could be so urgent? There was a pause; Allura wondered if he was asking himself the same question. “The sparkles were my idea!”

…of course they were.

“Thank you, Lance!” she called back.

Moments later, she stepped out of the shower, taking the towel off the rack and drying herself off.

“When did you ask for the sparkles?” Allura asked, walking back to the massage table. Cyba took her used towel and set it aside.

“When that other lady was walking me to the sauna. I was just curious what they had. I mean, this is all alien stuff, so it’s not like my usual picks are here, but I figured _sparkly_ was a safe bet.”

“Indeed it is.” Allura settled onto the massage table, excitement thrumming in her veins. This was the opposite of how she was supposed to feel before a massage, but she couldn’t help it. She’d really needed this.

Those two sets of arms were heavenly as they massaged her back, the perfect amount of pressure in all the right places. Allura couldn’t help but let out a loud hum when one of the knots came loose. It felt like she could _breathe_ again.

Allura opened one eye to glance over at Lance. It was rare to see Lance so _relaxed_ , given how excitable he was. She knew for a fact that he was a deep sleeper and took long hot showers, but she wasn’t privy to such moments of quiet from him. In fact, maybe he sang in the shower—loudly, of course.

Regardless, as comforting as his goofy expressions were, this relaxed one was nice too—smooth, showcasing just how perfect his skin was. She indulged in watching him breathe for a few moments.   

That relaxed expression crumbled, and she heard a wince escape him.

“Oh, I’m sorry—are you alright?” Rayba asked. Lance waved a hand at her, avoiding Allura’s gaze.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” he said. Rayba paused for a moment but continued with her massage, moving on to the next area despite Lance’s assurances.

“Lance,” Allura said.

“Allura,” Lance said. He still wasn’t looking at her.

“Were you injured on the last mission?”

“No—I probably just pulled a muscle or something.”

She sighed. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have been concerned, but Lance tended to hide injuries.

“Can you please tell me next time, even if it’s something minor?”

“I mean, it’s really not a big deal—”

“It’s a big deal to me.”

“Oh.”

An awkward silence threatened to sink its claws into the room, but Allura exhaled and shook her head. There was no use in letting such nonsense ruin their fun.

“If I beat you at Mario Kart under such conditions, it would be a false victory,” she said.

“Does it count as a false victory if you win every time anyway?” he asked, barely restraining his laughter.

“I perform best when I’m playing with you in Double Dash though,” Allura insisted. “You have excellent timing for using the items—especially the bananas.” 

“Man, we shouldn’t be talking about Mario Kart here,” he said. “That’s like, the opposite of relaxing. You taught me ten new Altean swear words last time we played.”

“But it _is_ very fun,” Allura said, pouting slightly. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with _passion_ , right?”

“You got me there!”  

Allura smiled and let herself drift off, savoring each moment of her massage.

Just before she wondered whether she could melt into the table, and whether that would be a _bad_ thing, Cyba spoke up again.

“Now it’s time for your facial treatment,” Cyba said. Allura rolled over and propped herself up by the elbows, at which point Cyba set a rolled-up towel where her head had been.

During the sponge-cleansing, steaming, exfoliation, and face mask application, Allura couldn’t find an opportunity to speak. Once the face mask had been fully applied, Cyba undid Allura’s hair towel and began to massage her scalp. 

“Man, we gotta get some of these products for the castle,” Lance said. He let out a long, happy sigh. “These are the best tingles _ever_.”

“I’m certain that can be arranged,” Allura said. “Though, we must consider that your skin glows enough as it is…”

There was that classic strangled noise again—and it was so easy to provoke.

\--

“We hope you enjoyed your visit, Princess Paladin and Paladin!” Cyba and Rayba said in unison. They didn’t bow like Alteans and Earthlings did; rather, they spread out both pairs of arms and leaned backwards, letting their antennae droop. At least they hadn’t offered to throw themselves into a fire.

“Yeah, this was awesome!” Lance said. “Thanks so much! And thanks for the gifts, too.” He turned to Allura and grinned, keeping a tight grip on their bag of products. “I’d consider _Operation: Treat Yo Self_ a total success! How about you?”

“We certainly met our objectives.”

Lance reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone.

“I’d also consider this a selfie-worthy occasion,” he said, waving his phone between them. “Glow Squad?”

Allura’s lips twitched into a smile. “Glow Squad,” she agreed.

Lance stepped closer to Allura’s side and held out the phone in front of them. Just before he hit the shutter, Allura glanced away from the camera and poked his cheek. 

His skin looked so soft—how could she resist? Besides, it made for a unique photo.

\--

Lying prone on her bed with her chin propped up on her hands, Allura watched the mice give a new performance. They had watched the Voltron shows multiple times, and had attempted to recreate their favorite parts.  

“You put our shows to shame,” Allura said, beaming at them. “I wish—”

She wished Lance was lying beside her, providing commentary on the performance. She wished she could find out whether he sang in the shower. She wished she didn’t need to sit up straight whenever she accidentally leaned towards him while they were playing a game. She wished he could show her this “tango” he kept talking about. She wished she could rest her head on his shoulder after yet another exhausting mission. She wished the distance between them would disappear—that they could just pull each other close and…

She wished a lot of things.

Chuchule’s nervous chittering snapped Allura’s attention back to the mice, who stared back at her. Allura sighed, dropping her hands and letting her chin fall to the bed.  

“This is so silly,” she lamented, “but also…frightening.” Plachu scurried over to her, making himself comfortable on her shoulder. The slight pressure encouraged her to continue. “Perhaps it’s a foolish idea. We _are_ in the middle of a _war_ , after all. It’s quite selfish of me to pursue romance at such a time. Besides, I have no idea how any of this works.” When Chulatt raised a paw to his face and widened his eyes, Allura laughed and shook her head.

“No, I can’t ask _Coran_ ,” she said. “He would spend hours _regaling_ me with every romance he’s ever been involved in and I would learn nothing useful.” She sighed, counting off with her fingers. “Hunk would tell Lance immediately; he’s incapable of keeping a secret. Pidge wouldn’t be remotely interested. Shiro would call it a distraction. And none of you are exactly romance experts—no offense meant.”

Chulatt, Chuchule, and Platt merely shrugged, but Plachu squeaked into her ear.

“…but maybe I don’t need to understand romance. I just need to understand _Lance_ , right?” Chuchule nodded sagely. “So…I could seek the Blue Lion’s counsel, couldn’t I? She understands Lance best.” More shrugging. Plachu hopped down from her shoulder to join the rest of the mice.

Allura looked at them with determination.

“It’s settled then—I shall speak to the Blue Lion tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> This series has one more installment. My goal is to have it posted before Season 5 airs. Wish me luck!


End file.
